Awning.



PATENTED MAY 9, 1905.

F. THOMS.

AWNING.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 4, 1904.

UNITED STATES Patented Ma'y 9,1905.

FRIEDERICH TI-IOMS, CF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AWNING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,639, dated May 9, 1905.

` .Application filed April 4, 1904. seria No. 201,523.

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRIEDERICH THoMs, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Awnings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to awnings and to certain improvements in constructing, mounting, and operating such awnings.

An embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which4 Figure 1 is a general perspective view of the closed awning, partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a similar view to show one of the end brackets. Fig. 3 is a section of the casing which contains the mechanism for operating the awning. Fig. I is a detail of pawl and ratchet forming part of said mechanism. Fig. 5 is a section of an antifriction-slide for one of the awning-supports. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of one of the supplementary supporting-brackets for the awning-shaft. Fig. 7 is a front View partly in section, to show the connection of the awning-shaft to the gearing by which it is driven.

The supporting structure comprises the boards 1 and 2, set at an angle to one another and secured to and extending along the buildV ing as far as the awning is to extend. To these boards are secured the end brackets 3, which form the support for the awning-shaft I. This shaft is preferably a continuous length of gas-pipe, having secured in one end a plug 5, turned down to form a journal 6, which turns in a bearing-hole formed in the bracket.

This is the end represented in Fig. 2. The4 opposite end is at the left of Fig. l and in Fig. 7. The plug' 5 in those figures extends through and beyond the bracket 3 and carries the bevelgear 7. An intermeshing bevel gear 8 is mounted at the upper end of the vertical shaft 9, the latter extending down to a position where it is readily accessible and entering a casing 1I, containing` operating devices hereinafter described. By reference to Figs. 1 and 7 it will be seen that the upper bearing for shaft 9 instead of being formed as usual in the support for the awning-shaft is an auxiliary bracket 12, which has pin-and-slotconnections 10 with bracket 3, so that bracket I2 can be adjusted relatively to bracket 3 and set in proper position to cause the gears to run easily and without binding.

In order to prevent a long gas-pipe rod from sagging, I employ any number of intermediate supporting-brackets 13, one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 6 and in proper position in Fig. 1. These brackets are secured to the boards] and 2 and have hooked extremities I4, in which the awning-shaft rests and turns. In the side of each bracket 13 is formed a keyway I5, which receives a key 16, and this key, as shown in Fig. I, rests upon the awning-shaft and keeps the latter in position. The proper location for these hooked brackets is at a point intermediate between the approached ends of two sections of awning.

I have found a sectional awning easier to handle, to place in position, and to remove and repair than a long and continuous awning, and my sectional awning possesses as well any of the advantages of the continuous awning, both in operation and appearance. In Fig. l two sections of awning 17 and 18 are secured to the same awning-shaft, with their free ends attached to the awning-board 19, the latter extending the entire length of the structure. As before stated, the awning-sections are in proximity and the space between them is underlapped by the awning-strip 21. These strips cover the gaps between the main awning-sections and are secured to a springroller 22, journaled in brackets 23, fastened to the main board I. The other ends of these covering-strips are secured to the movable awning-board 19. The brackets 23 are simple strips of metal formed with fiat surfaces in different planes, one of which bears against the board l, while the other has a hole to serve as a bearing for the spring-roller spindle. The construction of such a spring-roller being Well known, I have not considered it necessary to illustrate it. l

To the awning-board 19 is secured the rod 24, the lower end of which is pivoted to a slide 25 on the stationary guide-rod 26, fixed to the building, and a hinged supporting-link 27 connects the rod 24 at an intermediate point to the building. When the awning is lOO moved outwardly, the slide 25 moves upon its guide-rod, and in order to obtain perfect freedom of movement I prefer to form such slide as shown in Fig. 5. It is shown there as a tube having an interior groove near top and bottom, in which are held antifriction-balls 28. The guide-rod 26 passes through the tube in contact with these balls, and hence the movement of the slide is free and without binding.

The operating devices are contained in the vaccessible casing l1 and are applied to the vertical shaft 9, which enters such casing and carries the bevel-gear 29. Engaging with this gear is another bevel-gear, 31, whose pin or shaft 32 is journaled in the adjustable slotted standard 33. The slotted base of this standard rests upon the lioor of the casing and is held in position by a bolt and nut, as shown at 34. Formed with or secured along' with the gear 3l is aratchet-disk 35, from which a square shaft 36 projects into an opening in the casing and is adapted to receive any suitable handle, crank, key, or other operating device. A beveled gravity-pawl 37 is guided in the casing, and its stem 38 projects through an opening in said casing. The construction of this interior mechanism enables me to set awnings in position in much less time and with much less trouble than heretofore. By means of the slot-and-pin connection of the standard 33 I can place that standard in accurate position relatively to the gearing and other mechanism and then secure it by a screw 39 from the outside. Then it is easy to drill bearings in the proper places in the standard for the gear-shafts. In operating this mechy anism the revolution of the gear 3l and ratchet 35 are supposed to be with the arrow in Fig. 4. The ratchet-teeth raise the pawl and ride under it; but the pawl drops automatically at anyl stoppage, locking and holding the awning at any adjustment. This is the winding operation. In the unwinding operation the ratchet is lirst turned a little in the Winding direction, which causes the stem 0f the pawl to protrude from the casing. The stem can then be seized and held up by one hand and the gearing turned the other way to lower the awning to the whole extent or partially, the pawl when released locking it at any point.

The principal advantages of my invention lie in its great simplicity and the ease and readiness with which the awning can be set and then operated. There are also special advantages 1n a sectional awning having underlapping covering-strips, inasmuch as the latter are entirely out of the way. Further, when the covering-strips underlap the operation of the spring-roller cannot be interfered with. Moreover, the brackets which support the awning are interchangeable and can be used either at the right or the left end of the structure, according to where it is desired to place the winding mechanism, While by simply removing the gravity-pawl from the casing, turning it around, and replacing it the winding can be changed from a right-hand turn to a left-hand turn, and vice versa.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters l. In an awning, a horizontal awning-shaft, an end bracket in which said shaft is journaled, a gear on said shaft, an angle-plate adjusta'bly secured to the end bracket between the gear and said bracket, and a vertical winding-shaft journaled in the horizontal part of said angleplate and carrying a gear.

2. In an awning, end brackets, an awningshaft journaled therein, a sectional awning adapted to be wound upon and unwound from said shaft, intermediate brackets located between the awning-sections vand having guides, and slidable locking devices adapted to fit said guides and to bear upon the awning-shaft.

3. In an awning, an awning-shaft, awningboard and winding mechanism, a supportingrod secured to the awning-board, a casing to which said supporting-rod is hinged, a hinged brace for said supporting-rod, a stationary guide-rod passing through said easing, and rows of balls held between said casing and guide-rod and protected by said casing substantially as described.

4. In an awning, the combination of the awning itself, its supporting-shaft, a windingshaft, gearing between said shafts, a gear-casing, a bearing-bracket within said casing having a slotted basewhereby it can be set in its proper position within said casing, gears withnature, in presence of two witnesses, this 5th day of March, 1904.

FRIEDERICH THOMS. Witnesses:

L. W. SEELY, H. B. CHURCHILL.

IOO 

